Connect with us

Politics

2023: Fake Delegates’ Lists Threaten APC’s Presidential Convention

Published

on

Ahead of Monday’s presidential convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, there are concerns among stakeholders about moves by some chieftains to present a fake list of delegates in order to manipulate the process.

While the issue had in recent days been discussed in hushed tones among some elements in the party, stakeholders from Akwa Ibom and Cross River states have however voiced their concerns on the issue.

Advertisement

In Akwa Ibom, the leader of a group of elders within the party, Chief Don Etiebet, said the state chapter has been foisted with persons who did not win any election, at any congress monitored by INEC, as State Executives in Akwa Ibom State.

“Another instance is the decision on the part of our Party when they unceremoniously withdrew their appeal against the judgment of the trial court that was instituted by their predecessor in office i.e., the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), whose actions in office were fully ratified by the National Convention.

READ ALSO: Presidential Candidate: APC Governors Meeting Deadlocked After Buhari’s Stance

Advertisement

“Presently, we are all living witnesses to the fact that our Party has been constrained to seemingly conduct primaries that are not consistent with the provision of Section 84 (1) of the Electoral Act which states: ‘A political party seeking to nominate candidates
for elections under this Act shall hold primaries for aspirants to all elective positions which shall be monitored by the Commission. In line with this provision, the Commission shall, in monitoring primaries, only recognize delegates that emerge from Congresses duly monitored by the Commission’.

“The consequence of such conduct of primaries remains clear that our Party in Akwa Ibom State may not be in the position to present any validly nominated candidate in Akwa Ibom State except the issues are redressed immediately.
We hasten to warn, that the Akwa Ibom State challenge of using delegates that were not voted for, in line with the extant Electoral Laws if not addressed, the same delegates may be used for the Presidential primaries. Surely if that happens then the Presidential primary ruin the risk of not producing a validly nominated candidate in line with the Electoral Laws. This should not happen.
We fail to see what anyone stands to gain should this fate befall our great Party in Akwa Ibom State”, he stated.

In Cross River, a group of party faithful under the aegis “authentic delegates”, has called on the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee NWC of the APC to ignore a purported ‘fraudulent’ list of national delegates sent by the Cross River State Working Committee to the national leadership.

Advertisement

The APC stakeholders and the authentic national delegates elected on the 17th May 2022 also asked the NWC to follow the APC Constitution and Guidelines as it relates to the national delegates’ list submitted to the party.

A statement signed by Chief Francis Ekpenyong, on behalf of Cross River Authentic Adhoc National Delegates and which was obtained by Vanguard Wednesday in Abuja, said they were the original people who paid for nomination forms, participated in the processes and emerged as National Delegates of their respective Local Government Areas of the state.

READ ALSO: How APC Barred Journalists From Covering Senatorial Primaries In Ekiti

Advertisement

Part of the statement reads; “The attention of members and stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress APC Cross River State Chapter has been drawn to the fraudulent, meddlesome interference and day-light theft of the mandate of members of the party in the state who was elected National delegates in the just-concluded National delegates election of 17th May 2022.

“As members and stakeholders, we are very concerned and write to state that the party should follow its Constitution and Guidelines as it relates to the national delegate list submitted to the party. That the only valid and recognized list of elected national delegates is that of the one conducted on the 17th day of May 2022, which does not include the names of the State Working Committee Members of the party.

“That the purported national delegate list suggesting a parallel exercise and carrying the names of the State Working Committee Members such as Barr. Alphonsus Ogar Eba under Yala Local Government Area, Barr. Mensah Offiong Bassey under Calabar South Local Government Area, Lion Okara Ekawu under Bekwarra Local Government Area, Engr. (Dr.) Thomas Uko Aruku under Ogoja Local Government Area, Erasmus Ekpang under Boki Local Government Area, Hon. Prince Titi Ndifon under Akamkpa Local Government Area should therefore be ignored and/or disregarded as being forged as the original national delegate list was altered and/or falsified.

Advertisement

“For the avoidance of doubt, we hereby state clearly that Governor Ayade, Rt. Hon. Legor Idagbor, Barr. Alphonus Ogar Eba, Sen. Stephen Adi Odey, Engr. (Dr.) Thomas Uko Aruku just to mention but a few did not take part in the national delegate election and they are not delegates from their respective Local Government Areas of Cross River State.

“We make bold to say that the so-called national delegate list presented to the party by the State Working Committee Members of the party was based on a poorly scripted skit comedy shot by the State Chairman of the party and his co-conspirators.

“That the action and inactions of the State Working Committee Members of our dear party have the tendency of compromising the process and to deprive the elected national delegates of their rights as delegates to participate in the nomination of the presidential candidate of their own choice.

Advertisement

“That they have no right to alter the delegate list without following due process and the party Constitutions.”

While appealing to the NWC to do the right thing, Chief Ekpenyong urged the critical stakeholders to act fast and follow the already existing delegate list sent to the National Secretary dated the 17th May, 2022 being the date the National Delegate Election took place at the various 18 Local Government Areas of Cross River state.

VANGUARD.

Advertisement

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Comments

Politics

VIDEO: How Peter Obi Betrayed Me – Kenneth Okonkwo In New Interview

Published

on

Veteran actor and ex-spokesperson of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has accused former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, of betrayal in the wake of internal party disputes.

In a viral interview with Symfoni which started trending on Saturday, Okonkwo, who officially exited the Labour Party in February 2025, revealed that Obi went against his advice and returned to support the embattled Julius Abure-led faction of the party, despite alleged warnings.

Advertisement

According to him, Obi was misled by LP executives who claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission had recognised them.

He said, “Any politician that knows what he’s doing cannot be betrayed by another. If there is anybody that betrayed the other, I can say it emphatically that Peter Obi betrayed me.

READ ALSO: Nigeria No Longer A Democracy, Peter Obi Laments

Advertisement

“The Julius Abure-led LP members lied to Obi that the Independent National Electoral Commission had accepted them and Obi surreptitiously went back to them but I told him: ‘Sir, you have made a public statement on integrity and even if INEC has accepted them, that is not a criterion for you to go back and start dealing with them because they have shown that they are not democratic. If you go back to them, they will destroy your political career and everything you have said about integrity will die.’”

He said that despite privately urging Obi not to align with a group he described as “undemocratic” and “agents of the government,” Okonkwo said Obi went ahead to publicly endorse them.

“I told Obi that these people had become agents in the hands of the government to destabilise him. What they did was absolutely illegal and unconstitutional, I told him that if he went back to them, I wouldn’t join him in doing so.

Advertisement

“Thereafter, I called all the people that were in the inner circle and told them the same thing about what Obi was trying to do. I told them he wanted to go back with the Abure people and if he did, I wouldn’t go back with him because I do not swallow back my words.

READ ALSO: Teen Who Stood In Front Of Peter Obi’s Convoy Freed After Months In Kirikiri

“And after saying all those things, within like 72 hours, Obi went back to Abure’s office to publicly endorse them and while he was there talking to them, one of the leaders in that executive sent me the video to mock me that the person I was fighting for against them has come to their office to endorse them.

Advertisement

“It was when INEC dissociated itself from Abure that Obi came out to start acting neutral but I told him he could not be neutral and something had to be done,” he added.

The Labour Party has been embroiled in a prolonged leadership crisis, with opposing factions laying claim to the party’s national structure.

The Abure-led faction has faced allegations of financial mismanagement and anti-democratic practices, which critics say contradict the party’s reformist image.

Advertisement

Okonkwo, a known loyalist of Obi’s political ideology, cited these irregularities as his reason for quitting the party earlier in the year.

Watch video below:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1933867577651925202https://twitter.com/i/status/1933867577651925202

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Politics

Amaechi Slams Tinubu’s Policies In Fresh Outburst

Published

on

Former Minister of Transportation and two-time governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has asked the coalition opposition to kick President Bola Tinubu out of office if Nigeria is to escape its deepening economic crisis.

In a no-holds-barred interview with the BBC, Amaechi, a founding member and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, lamented the country’s deteriorating condition and signalled his willingness to help forge a new opposition coalition to rescue the nation.

Advertisement

People are dying. People are starving. I myself am feeling the effects of hunger,” he said, painting a grim picture of life under the current administration.

Amaechi’s statement comes in the wake of the APC’s recent endorsement of Tinubu as its sole presidential candidate for 2027, a move Amaechi openly questioned.

READ ALSO: I Don’t Want To Join Issues With Children, Amaechi Hits Back At Wike

Advertisement

While reiterating his loyalty to the party, he warned that fidelity to a political platform should never come at the cost of national conscience.

If the government is failing the country, you don’t just go along because you’re in the same party. You know that’s not right,” he stated emphatically.

Though he stopped short of confirming a 2027 presidential bid, the former minister said the option remained on the table.

Advertisement

“Certainly, I believe I can make a meaningful contribution,” he added, hinting that his political journey may not yet be over.

READ ALSO: Democracy Day: Gov. Mohammed Advocates Unity, Good Governance

He spoke of widespread poverty, spiralling food insecurity, and daily tragedies that now dot the national landscape.

Advertisement

Reflecting on his years as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Amaechi lamented that the number of out-of-school children then pegged at 10 million, had since ballooned.

The economic hardship, he said, had also deepened insecurity.

“The Boko Haram insurgency is not just a religious crisis. Many of those involved are driven by desperation and hunger,” he asserted, linking terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping to a broader socioeconomic collapse.

Advertisement

Amaechi’s declaration added momentum to an emerging political realignment.

 

Talks were already underway among key opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, as they explored the possibility of a unified front against Tinubu in 2027.

Advertisement

Even ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and once a key Tinubu ally had signalled interest in backing an opposition alliance.

But as opposition forces stir, the ruling party continues to absorb defectors, prompting fears of Nigeria drifting toward a one-party state, a scenario Amaechi warned could undermine democracy and silence dissent.

We’re thinking that if we come together and win the election, the country will certainly witness change,” he said, suggesting an urgent need for a credible alternative.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Politics

UNN Best Graduate Wins £33,000 Com

Published

on

A student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka’s with the overall best graduating CGPA of 4.98, Chizoba Ejiofor, has secured a fully funded Commonwealth scholarship.

Education advocate and tech entrepreneur Alex Onyia, who made this known on social media on Thursday, said he had taken responsibility for supporting Ejiofor after the university failed to award him the promised N50,000 prize for academic excellence.

Advertisement

I have a good news. A very good news. You remember Chizoba Ejiofor, who graduated as UNN overall best graduating student with CGPA of 4.98, that UNN refused to fulfill the N50k price promised to him?

READ ALSO: Crisis Brews In UNN As Court Restrains Varsity From Conducting Convocation Election

“I took him up as a full responsibility. We started working tirelessly together since last year to secure a fully funded scholarship, and today we have the good news,” Onyia wrote.

Advertisement

Onyia revealed that Ejiofor was awarded a fully funded Commonwealth scholarship, valued at over £33,000. The package includes tuition, flight tickets, and monthly stipends.

This is fully funded scholarship from Commonwealth. Over 33 thousand pounds in scholarship, flight tickets and monthly stipends inclusive. No one can describe how happy and fulfilled I am today,” he added.

 

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Trending